


Twelve Step Plan

by DoreyG



Series: Steps [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Bittersweet Ending, Community: comment_fic, Crimes & Criminals, Denial, Denial of Feelings, How to Get Away With Murder - Freeform, Implied Sexual Content, Lists, M/M, Manipulation, Murder, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Secret Relationship, Seduction, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-03-16 14:44:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3492269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoreyG/pseuds/DoreyG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Step One: kill somebody.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twelve Step Plan

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nevcolleil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nevcolleil/gifts).
  * Translation into 中文 available: [[翻译] 十二步计划](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5245280) by [AntaresofJuly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AntaresofJuly/pseuds/AntaresofJuly)



> Written for Nevcolleil at Comment_Fic who prompted "The Flash, Barry Allen/Leonard Snart, How To Get Away With Murder". These two may be eating my brain, please send help.

Step One: kill somebody.

This might seem like an obvious point, you can’t commit murder without somebody getting murdered, but you’d be surprised how many idiots overlook it. Too many times has he had to tolerate minions panicking at him about how they’re going to jail for life, how they’re never going to see the outside again, how their mothers are going to be _so_ disappointed in them. Too many times has he had to remind them that without an actual dead person things are a lot more simple – or complicated, depending on how you look at the matter.

Step Two: evade immediate capture.

Again, obvious, but there are really far too many insane people in the business. Don’t take your time, don’t gloat over the body, _certainly_ don’t allow yourself to be caught with blood on your hands. If a murder occurs, an impulsive guard shot neatly in the head for instance, don’t waste your time on theatrics. Just get _out_ of there. Leave the immediate area, leave even the connected area. Go to ground, an infrequently used apartment in one of the shittier areas of the city is ideal, and _stay there_. At least, until you’ve figured out what to do next.

Step Three: figure out what to do next.

Vital point. But, also, the point most open to interpretation. Every way to get away with murder is different, special. Find what works for you. Be _flexible_.

Step Four: get an inside man.

And this is his idea of flexibility. It is an expert level of flexibility, however, so probably shouldn’t be tried unless you’ve successfully got away with murder before. Scout out the police station, see who might be helpful. A forensic scientist, for instance – young, pretty, with a certain look that suggests a hopeless romantic. Make your contact casual, like an accident. Bump into him in a coffee shop, apologize profusely and offer to buy him a drink. Invite his eyes to linger on you, pretend to smile easily. Don’t look like a threat, _don’t_ look out of the ordinary. Even lambs can trip wolves, if the wolves aren’t careful.

Step five: get close 

Alternate title: seduction. Although, again, that title really is far too ambiguous and you really would be _surprised_ at the amount of idiots in the business. Make sure to bump into your mark in several other places, remark with wry surprise on how you keep meeting each other. Flirt a little, but not too much – dangle the bait, and then let the fish move in. Suggest a date, perhaps – and when he accepts keep it traditional, a movie and dinner and maybe a kiss in the car when you drop him off afterwards. Text him, tell him how nice a time you had. Allow him to set the time for a second date. And then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth…

Step Six: convince him of how nice you are.

Really should be started at Step Five, and possibly even at Step Four if possible, but is important enough to deserve its own point. Be a nice person, most certainly _don’t_ be a “nice person”. Allow him to set the pace, but make sure he knows that you’re still interested. Don’t pressure him, allow things to take their course semi-naturally. Be understanding, if he has to run off mid-date _tease_ him but never allow him to think that you’re actually angry. Say that you want to take it slow, to value him – hopeless romantics like that sort of thing, although that part may vary depending on who you seduce.

Step Seven: don’t get _too_ close.

Remember the plan. _Remember_ that you want to get away with this. Recall little things about him, but don’t dwell on those things when you’re not together. Kiss him sweetly, but don’t get carried away and fantasise about fucking him up against a wall. Acknowledge his beauty, but don’t get distracted by it. Don’t absently count his eyelashes, don’t hold him for a little too long every time he embraces you, _don’t_ start to want him as more than a means to an end. Remember the _plan_.

Step Eight: tell him your true identity.

Detachment is good, detachment is vital. Because one day, perhaps after you’ve been making out and he’s started breathlessly whimpering for _more_ , you’re going to have to rock back and admit that you haven’t been totally honest with him. Tell him who you are – not all of who you are, he doesn’t need to know your favourite colour or your pride in your achievements or the way that you still _hate_ your father even now, but your name at least. Capitalize on his confusion, take advantage of even the smallest blink. Explain that there’s been a misunderstanding, in relation to your crime. Particularly make use of the work that you did for Step Six – you’re a good person, you’re a nice man, you _couldn’t_ murder anybody. You’ve made some mistakes in the past, but that’s all over now – he’s _reformed_ you. Lie, if you have to. Lie, even if it hurts you in some obscure way down deep inside.

Step Nine: allow him to get you off.

In both ways, if you wish. A frenzied bout of love- _fucking_ is always a good sign, it shows that you’ve picked a mark more carried by passion than sense. Allow him to tell you, afterwards, that he knows that it’s all a misunderstanding because he sees the good in you. Allow him to go down to the police station, to clear your name. Allow him to insist, passionately, upon your innocence. Allow yourself to become free, as easy as that.

Step Ten: linger

This might seem a counterproductive step, because you have no real reason to stick around once your freedom has become confirmed, but… But you don’t want to look suspicious, so you might as well stay. Allow him to linger, in your apartment. Allow him to fill the rooms with life. Allow yourself gentle nights curled up together, hot mornings with him gasping into your neck, long afternoons where neither of you put on clothes. Allow some wondering, some dreaming. Just a little, just a _lot_ -

Remember, as best you can.

Step Eleven: flee

Force yourself to go, when he leaves for work one day. Remind yourself of your purpose, and move as fast as possible. Pack everything necessary, leave behind all irrelevant things. Make it so you were never there, like your mark unaccountably decided to stay in a near-abandoned apartment building for a few months. Do it all within an hour, and then march out of the door and ever onwards. Because affection is a weakness, and you never really felt anything anyway.

(Take his shirt, if you must, but do it quickly. Shove it down to the bottom of your bag, don’t think about it much. Certainly don’t linger on his warmth, on what you’re choosing to leave behind.)

Step Twelve: never look back.

Get out of Central City for a few months, pick up men in bars and women in clubs. Never go into another coffee shop, deliberately ignore them whenever possible. Do a few small jobs, build up your reputation again. Return to Central City only after about a year - after you’ve built up your criminal portfolio afresh, after your mark has probably stopped actively resenting you. Plan a robbery – a diamond, a van, a challenge to keep you busy. Don’t stand outside the coffee shop where you met, lingering is stupid. Don’t still hold his shirt sometimes, sentiment is weak. Rob the van, get the diamond, move quickly before the cops arrive-

And then see him, undeniably him, in a blaze of red light. See his rage, his concern, the way he still undeniably cares. See him spot you, freeze, start forward with an unknowable expression flickering across his face. _See_ him.

And get away with murder, it’s as easy – and difficult – as that.


End file.
